Leakproof aerosol construction



Sept 17, 1968 y H. HANSQN'JR 3,401,844

LEAKPROOF AEROSOL CONSTRUCTION Filed June 9, 1967 /l Il N United States Patent O 3,401,844 LEAKPROOF AEROSOL CONSTRUCTION Harvey Hanson, Jr., Summit, Ill., assignor to Valve Corporation of America, a corporation of Deiaware Filed june 9, 1967, Ser. No. 644,983 9 Claims. (Cl. 222-193) ABSTRACT F THE DISCLGSURE Related applications (l) Application Ser. No. 556,039, filed June 8, 1966.

(2) Copending application Ser. No. 644,848 entitled Dispensing Container filed J une 9, 1967.

(3) Copending application Ser. No. 644,982 entitled Aerosol Dispenser Construction filed June 9, 1967.

Background of the invention The present invention relates to the class of aerosol containers in which a propellant and tlowable material to be dispensed are kept in separate but associated receptacles, and the material to be dispensed is aspirated by the proellant when the valve is in its open position.

In containers of this type heretofore known, the passageway for the fiowable material to be dispensed has aiways remained open, even when the valve for the propellant was in its closed position. U.S. Patent No. 2,888,- 203 is exemplary of that. Such constructions are sometimes subject to leakage, particularly if they are inverted. They are subject to contamination of the fiowable material by atmospheric air and to evaporation of the fiowa-ble niaterial.

ln accordance with the present invention, the passageway for the flowable material to `'be dispensed is sealed against leakage by gasketing means when the valve is closed. The gasketing means sealingly surround the valve stern and seal an orifice in the stem which is in flow communication with the receptacle containing the fiowable material. The orifice is displaced from its sealing engagement with the sealing means when the valve stern is moved to a position in which propellant is discharged from the associated receptacle and through the stem.

Further purposes and advantages of this invention will appear from the following description and drawings.

Brief description of the drawings FIG. 1 is a side sectional view through a leakproof aerosol container construction of the present invention, with the valve assembly being shown in closed position;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side sectional View through the upper portion of the container construction of FlG. 1, with the valve assembly being shown in an open dispensing position;

FlG. 3 is a bottom plan view of a portion of the valve assembly' of FIGS. 1 and 2; and

3,401,844 Patented Sept. 17, 1968 ICC pensed comprises a bottom wall 12 crimped to the lower edge of a cylindrical wall 13. The upper portion of the cylindrical wall 13 slopes inwardly and upwardly, as indicated at 14, and is provided with a flap valve 15 covering a vent opening 10 for a reason hereinafter described.

The upper edge portion 14 of the cylindrical wall of the outer receptacle defines an opening adapted to receive an inner receptacle 16 that is adapted to contain a propellant separate from the fiowable material that is held in the outer receptacle. The inner receptacle comprises a cylindrical wall 17 and a bottom wall 18. The bottom wall 1S is provided with an opening 19 through which a conduit 21 extends. A fitting 22 provides a seal between the conduit and the edge of the bottom wall defining the opening 19. The lower end of the conduit terminates adjacent bottom wall 12 of the Outer receptacle. The lower end of the conduit is notched, as indicated at 23, to permit the owable material to flow from the outer receptacle 11 into the conduit even if the conduit touches the bottom of the outer receptacle. The upper end of the conduit is secured to the tailpiece 24 of a tubular shell 25. Shell 25 is part of a valve assembly 26 secured to amounting cup 27 that forms a top closure for the aerosol container. The shell construction is substantially the same as that illustrated and described in copending application Ser. No. 556,039.

After the valve assembly is secured in place in the mounting cup, in a manner hereinafter described, the outer edge of mounting cup 27 and the upper edge of the inner receptacle are crimped into sealing interengagement to define a bead 28 which is snapped into sealing engagement with a bead receiving recess 29 at the upper edge o f receptacle 11. The inner receptacle may be filled with the propellant either before or after the container is assembled. The fiowable material to be dispensed may be poured into the outer receptacle through the top opening before the inner receptacle is secured to the upper end of the outer receptacle, or through its bottom 'before the bottom wall 12 is crimped to the lower end of the cylindrical wall 13, if the interconnection Abetween inner and outer receptacles is relatively permanent, as for example described in a copending application entitled Dispensing Container filed concurrently herewith.

In addition to the tubular shell 25, the valve assembly 26 comprises other parts which are circular in crosssection, including a valve 32 and sealing means including an upper sealing gasket 34 and a lower sealing gasket 35, and a disk 36 interposed between the sealing gaskets. Valve 32 comprises a valve body 37 and a valve stem 38 projecting from one end of the valve body. The opposite end of the valve body is reduced in diameter to form an annular shoulder 39 and a depending portion 41 adapted to fit within a spring 33. One end of the spring bears against the shoulder 39 and its other end bears against radial ribs 42 projecting upwardly fr-om the bottom of the tubular shell. The ribs 42 are extended upwardly along a portion of the inner cylindrical surface of the shell 25 to facilitate, among other things, proper positioning of the spring 33 for reception `of depending portion 41 of the valve.

Valve stern 3S projects through a centrally disposed opening 43 provided therefor in the mounting cup. The edge of the mounting cup defining the opening 43 is bent upwardly to form an annular collar 44 that may serve as a stop to limit the downward movement of a spray tip 45 that is mounted on the upper end of the valve stem. The valve stem defines a pair of longitudinal bores -46 and 47 that extend downwardly from the upper end of the stem and terminate in lateral orifices 48 and 49, respectively. The spray tip 45 has a discharge outlet 51 in flow communication with the upper ends of bores 46 and 47. The

upper ends of the bores are positioned so that the propellant flowing through bore 47 will aspirate the owable material from the outer receptacle through bore 46, through shell 25 and conduit 21.

The valve 32 is moved downwardly to open position against the action of spring 33 by linger pressure on top of the spray tip 45. Spring 33 normally holds the valve in closed position, and moves it upwardly to closed position as soon as the finger pressure against the spray tip is released. The upper sealing gasket 34 encircles the valve stern 3S and seals the outer end of the orifice 49 when the valve is in its closed position. The outer end of the orifice 48 is similarly sealed by the lower sealing gasket 35. The gasket 35 is seated on the upper end of a cylindrical wall 52 comprising part of the tubular shell 25, and provides a seal to prevent the propellant from flowing into the outer receptacle. The outer edge of the gasket 35 extends beyond the outer surface of the wall 52 to insure the effectiveness of the seal.

Tubular shell 25 has an integral mounting rim 53 spaced outwardly from the wall 52 and supported by an integral horizontal web 54 extending outwardly from the wall 52 below its upper edge. The rim 53 extends above the upper end of the wall 52 and supports the annular disk 36 that encircles the valve stem 38 between the upper and lower sealing gaskets. Web 54 is provided with a plurality of openings 55 to provide passageways in flow communication with the inner receptacle 16 outwardly of the cylindrical wall 52 of the tubular shell.

The central opening 56 of the disk 36 has a diameter larger than the diameter of the valve stern 38 and forms a continuous space 57 encircling the valve stem between the sealing gaskets. The underside of the disk 36 is provided with a plurality of radial grooves S extending from the central opening 56 to the periphery of the disk. Grooves 58 are in ilow communication with the interior of the inner receptacle via openings 55 and the space between gasket 35 and rim 53. Hence the inner receptacle interior is in communication with continuous space 57.

A central section or pedestal 59 of the mounting cup supports the valve assembly 26. The pedestal 59 has an inwardly directed crimp bead 61 engaging the underside of the rim 53 to prevent vertical displacement of the tubular shell 25. Thus the sealing gaskets and the disk 36 are intermediately held against vertical displacement by the tubular shell. Crimp bead 61 is sufiiciently tight to seal the interior of the inner receptacle from flow communication with mounting cup opening 43.

When the valve 32 is in its open position, the orifice 49 is coplanar with open space 57 so that the propellant ows freely from the inner receptacle 16 through the grooves 58, space 57, `bore 47, and the discharge outlet 51. At the same time, orifice 48 is below the gasket 35 so that the owable material in the outer receptacle 11 can be sucked up through conduit 21, tubular shell 25, orifice 48, the bore 46, to be aspirated through discharge outlet 51 by the flow of propellant across shore 46 through the discharge outlet 51. Collar 44 or the upper edges of ribs 42 serve as a stop means to limit downward displacement of the valve stem to make sure that the stern is not depressed so far that orifice 49 is brought into sealing engagement with lower sealing gasket 35.

As the owable material is dispensed through the discharge outlet, the pressure in the outer receptacle is reduced. Whenever the pressure in the outer receptacle is sufficiently reduced, the pressure differential causes the flap valve to open and remain open until the pressure within the receptacle approaches atmospheric pressure, thus insuring a continuous discharge of the owable material as long as the valve is held open, and until the outer receptacle 11 is emptied.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 4 is identical with the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3 except for the flow passageway between the inner receptacle 16 and the radial grooves 58. The structure that is identical in both embodiments is indicated by the same reference numerals.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the lower sealing gasket 62 engages the inner vertical surface of the rim 63 of the tubular shell. The peripheral surface of the rim 63 is provided with a plurality of vertically extending notches 64 extending through the height of the rim in vertical alignment with radial grooves 58 to provide a liow passageway extending `from the inner receptacle to the radial grooves and to annular space 57.

Although the construction herein has been described with a propellant in the inner receptacle, it is within the purview of this invention to have propellant in both receptacles in which event the seal joining the two receptacles should be pressure tight.

The inner receptacle of this invention is adapted to be pressure filled, generally in the manner described and illustrated in copending application Ser. No. 556,039, and preferably via a pressure filling apparatus constructed in accordance with the principles described in the copending application entitled Dispensing Container hereinbefore referred to.

Although two embodiments of this invention have been described in detail, it will be understood that the description thereof is intended to be illustrative, rather than restrictive, as many details of construction may be modiied or changed without departing from the spirit or scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. A dispensing container comprising an outer receptacle adapted to contain ilowable material to be dispensed, an inner receptacle seated within said outer receptacle and adapted to contain a pressurized propellant out of contact with said flowable material, a valve assembly projecting outwardly of said receptacles, said valve assembly including a valve stem means deiining a pair of longitudinal bores open at their upper ends, a spray tip mounted on the stem and overlying the upper ends of said bores and having a discharge outlet in flow communication with said bores, orifices in said stern remote from said upper ends in flow communication with said bores, said orifices providing separate tiow communication between eaoh of said receptacles and said bores when said valve is in open position, and means for sealingly preventing flow communication between said receptacles and said orifices when said valve assembly is in its closed position, the upper ends of said bores being closely adjacent each other, whereby said propellant aspirates the flowable material from said outer receptacle as it ows through said discharge outlet.

2. The dispensing container of claim 1 in which said means for sealingly preventing liow communication comprises a pair of longitudinally spaced sealing gaskets encircling said stem means, a first of which is in sealing engagement with said orilice 'for propellant and the second of which is in sealing engagement with the said orifice for owable material when the valve assembly is in its closed position.

3. A dispensing container as recited in claim 2, in which an annular `disk encircling said stem means is interposed between said sealing gaskets, said disk having acentrally disposed opening larger than the outer diameter o'f the stem means portion which it encircles, and a plurality of radial grooves in its lower surface, said centrally disposed opening communicating with said propellant orifice, each of said grooves communicating with said centrally disposed opening.

4. A dispensing container as recited in claim 2, in which said valve assembly includes a shell and a depending conduit, said shell comprising a cylindrical wall having its upper edge in sealing engagement with the lower surface of said second sealing gasket, said llowable material orifice being in communication with the interior of said shell when the valve assembly is in open position, said conduit being secured to the lower end of said tubular shell and extending through said inner receptacle and terminating in flow communication within said outer receptacle.

5. The dispensing container of claim 2 in which said valve assembly `includes a shell, an upper edge of which is in sealing engagement with said second sealing gasket and in which, when the valve assembly is in its open position, said shell defines a passage means for liowable material along the underside of said second sealing gasket and for propellant along the topside of said second sealing gasket.

6. A valve assembly secured to a dispensing receptacle, said valve assembly comprising a shell and a valve assembly including a body and a depressible stem projecting outwardly of said dispensing receptacle, said stem defining a pair of separate longitudinal bores each terminating at one end internally of said valve assembly in separate lateral orifices in sealing engagement with stern encircling sealing gasket means, each of said bores being `open to the atmosphere at their other ends.

7. The valve assembly o'f claim 6 in which said sealing gasket means comprises a pair of separate sealing gaskets spaced longitudinally along said stem, a first of said sealing gaskets being in sealing engagement with an upper edge of Isaid shell and being spaced from said second sealing gasket by a disc defining flow path means for a first fluid over said first sealing gasket and beneath said other sealing gasket.

8. The valve assembly of claim 6 in which said lateral orifices are openable simultaneously when said valve stern is depressed.

9. In a dispensing device including two receptacles for separately containing a propellant and a owable material, a valve assembly mounted to the top of the propellant receptacle, said valve assembly comprising a valve body biased to closing and an integral valve stem, said valve stem defining longitudinal bores opening at one end in close adjacency and terminating internally of the valve assembly in laterally extending flow orifices which are in sealing engagement with gasketing means when said valve assembly is in closed position and which are in separate flow communication with said propellant receptacle and owable material receptacle in said valve assembly open position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,651,139 9/1953 Gregg 222-193 2,733,102 l/1956 Croce 222-193 3,217,936 ll/l965 Abplanalp 239-308 3,326,469 6/1967 Abplanalp et al. 239-308 WALTER SOBIN, Primary Examiner. 

